If you or a loved one is a respiratory care therapist practicing and is being investigated for misconduct related to your qualifications or profession, your professional license and career may be at risk. Having devoted a lot of resources and time to acquiring your respiratory care professional license, you should not let a single mistake or unfounded accusation should not jeopardize your professional journey.
At Riverside License Attorney, we are ready to protect your professional license and future career. Our team understands the role of respiratory care practitioners and the specific circumstances that can lead to formal accusations filed with the licensing board. We thoroughly understand the rules and regulations that could affect the administrative procedures needed to successfully mitigate or eliminate future professional disciplinary measures and your career.
The Functions of a California Respiratory Care Practitioner
A respiratory care practitioner in California, often called a respiratory therapist, offers vital services to help patients manage and overcome respiratory issues. As a licensed respiratory therapist, your duties involve operating ventilators, respirators, and other life-saving medical equipment.
Respiratory therapists are often called in emergencies to assist people of all ages, from premature babies whose respiratory systems are not fully developed to seniors suffering from lung diseases. Whether you work in a hospital, home health, hospice agency, or any other setting, your skills and expertise as a professional are crucial and always in demand.
Many patients in this field have chronic respiratory disorders like emphysema, bronchitis, or asthma. Others could be recovering from heart attacks, strokes, or severe accidental injuries. Some patients could also be suffering from apnea. Your responsibilities are as diversified as the patients and involve performing tasks such as:
- Providing life support through mechanical ventilation
- Conducting examinations, assessments, and patient supervision
- Recording of vital signs, such as the patient’s pulse rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and respiration rate
- Maintenance of tracheostomies as well as other artificial airways
- Providing medical care for respiratory conditions
- Administering aerosol medicines
- Assisting with educating patients and rehabilitating them
- Evaluating patients’ reactions to treatment over time
- Collecting blood samples to measure oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gas levels
- Examining sputum specimens and respiratory X-ray findings
- Assessing the degree of pulmonary impairment in patients
- Leading smoking cessation treatments
- Teaching patients about asthma and related conditions
Respiratory care practitioners should be well-organized and detail-oriented in their duties. They also need strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills and the capacity to perform their duties well under high-pressure environments.
Another important and sometimes difficult aspect of respiratory therapy is balancing patients’ loads. Respiratory therapists often face the challenge of caring for many patients, each with a different level of respiratory distress and requiring different medical care.
However, even with all these skills and duties, licensed professionals can occasionally make minor errors as they work. Grievances and accusations of malpractice against a respiratory care professional could also stem from unrealistic expectations or misunderstandings. When this happens, your license as a professional could be put in jeopardy.
A professional license attorney understands the challenging and demanding nature of your role as a respiratory care practitioner. They also recognize the risks associated with your profession, which may expose you to lawsuits, criminal allegations, and administrative penalties. Your attorney will aim to advocate for you and protect your license, safeguarding your future professional trajectory.
The Objective of the Respiratory Care Board of California
The licensing board aims to improve access to respiratory health care, educate the public about respiratory care professionals’ vital roles, and support respiratory care training programs. However, like other licensing boards, its primary goal is to serve and protect the general public from substandard or unsafe practices.
The board prioritizes patient safety and welfare over the practitioner. It exercises its authority to limit respiratory care license issuance, issue public reprimands and citations, revoke or suspend licenses for serious violations, and enforce the California Code of Regulations, Respiratory Care Practice Act, Business & Profession Code, and other applicable statutes.
Violations of professional codes of conduct can be classified as “major” or “minor” according to their severity. Typically, a major infringement refers to an act that poses a serious risk of injury to the public, a patient, or healthcare professionals themselves.
Any violations linked to drugs or alcohol are also considered serious offenses. These can include serving patients while under the influence, refusing drug tests, or attempting to forge a drug testing result. Noncompliance with license probation terms after being placed on probation for a previous crime is also a serious violation.
Severe violations will prompt the licensing board to suspend your professional duties temporarily while deciding the final disciplinary action. This “temporary suspension” can have serious consequences if the California licensing board takes too long to decide.
Minor transgressions include a single failure to comply with less critical probation terms or any transgression that doesn’t cause tangible harm to patients, the general public, or their profession.
A citation is a likely disciplinary method for minor infractions. These citations are public, visible to potential employers and patients, and may incur substantial fines. Therefore, contesting and removing any citation from your work record is crucial.
Any accusation lodged against you could jeopardize your license. However, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and Respiratory Care Board of California will consider the seriousness of the accusation or complaint and any mitigating or aggravating factors to make the final ruling that could affect your career.
Typical Accusations Against Respiratory Care Professionals
The State of California allows licensed or certified individuals to run their businesses freely within the state. This is the same for respiratory care practitioners who run private practices. Even when formally employed in a health institution or company, respiratory care practitioners work independently as skilled professionals. This means they could still face allegations or complaints from patients they attend to or their coworkers for unethical or unprofessional conduct.
Respiratory Care practitioners often face common allegations, which may include:
Billing Fraud
You could be charged with billing fraud regardless of whether you acted deliberately. A client could complain that you invoiced them for services not provided. Incorrect use of billing codes may lead to allegations of fraud against you. This can be considered a criminal charge that could appear on your professional and criminal records. If a client files this complaint with the Respiratory Care Board, they will investigate your professional practice or licensure.
Unfortunately, the board can initiate disciplinary measures at any time. Billing fraud accusations will trigger several additional inquiries into your practice. The police and the insurance company get involved in fraud cases to conduct their inquiries.
When faced with multiple investigations, individuals may struggle to control them and unknowingly implicate themselves. It is crucial to have legal representation during inquiries and hearings to protect your license and professional practice. Seek a lawyer with a thorough understanding of the criminal implications and licensing consequences related to the allegations.
Your attorney will review the evidence, analyze the circumstances, and develop an appropriate defense strategy. By implementing effective defenses, you can protect your license from revocation and potentially avoid criminal penalties altogether.
Drug or Alcohol Misuse
As a professional respiratory practitioner, your client can accuse you of substance abuse to the board. This allegation carries severe consequences that could result in license revocation. If a patient smells alcohol on you or notices signs of impairment, they can report you to the board.
Being accused of drug or alcohol abuse could suggest that you perform your duties while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Respiratory therapists are entrusted with highly sensitive responsibilities, where even a minor error can have fatal consequences for patients. Therefore, the board, whose primary duty is to protect the public from unethical or dangerous conduct, can temporarily suspend your license while conducting investigations.
If you are found to have abused drugs or alcohol, your license may be revoked or placed on probation until you complete treatment.
An attorney specializing in professional licensing and criminal law can represent you before the Board. If the accusations against you are unfounded, they will present a strong defense to protect your license. Several potential defenses your attorney can offer include:
- You have a health condition with symptoms that are similar to those of someone impaired by alcohol, such as diabetes.
- You were experiencing fatigue from working a long time but were not intoxicated
- You had a single glass of wine during lunch, causing the scent of alcohol, but it did not exceed the legal limit
By presenting these evidence-supported defenses, you can safeguard your license and continue pursuing your passion.
Sexual Misconduct
Professionals often face allegations of sexual misconduct. While some claims may be valid, many are based on lies and can result in license revocation if not effectively defended. Patients can be demanding, and if their requests are denied, they may devise ways to implicate you.
A common revenge tactic is accusing the individual of sexual misconduct. The board’s primary duty is to protect patients’ interests over practitioners’. Consequently, they take accusations seriously and investigate their validity. Mounting a strong defense against these allegations is the best way to protect your professional practice and license.
Your attorney will investigate the patient’s character and determine whether they have made similar accusations. Other treated patients may be called to testify about your professional conduct. Your lawyer will present strong evidence to refute the baseless accusations, potentially leading to your acquittal.
Remember that sexual misconduct can trigger both professional and criminal investigations. Do not let false accusations cost you your license or lead to legal trouble. Instead, let a lawyer defend you against these allegations.
Mitigating and Aggravating Factors
At the Riverside License Attorney, we are committed to vigorously challenging and overcoming accusations against you. Often, we can achieve this without a hearing or formal accusation from the board. The board could determine that the claim lacks sufficient evidence or is unsubstantiated for disciplinary action.
However, sometimes, it could be impossible to evade formal disciplinary action. In these situations, victory means reducing the severity of imposed disciplinary measures. Specifically, we advocate for delaying suspensions and endorsing probationary terms. We can also seek reduced probation periods with less stringent requirements, lower monetary penalties, or shorter suspension durations.
Our attorneys possess highly skilled negotiation skills to obtain favorable settlements during and before the administrative hearing. Alternatively, we can challenge the board’s citation or disciplinary action within the specified timeframe. If a hearing is necessary, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will consult official administrative guidelines and consider several mitigating or aggravating factors when deciding. The licensing board should then approve this decision to finalize it.
Aggravating factors that the prosecution could attempt to emphasize include:
- Any tangible detriment experienced by patients
- Any potential damage that could have occurred
- Breach of trust by a patient or employer
- The presence of any prior infractions on your file
- A recurring pattern of the violation is under examination
- Committing any criminal act in a juvenile’s presence
- Having a felony or misdemeanor on your criminal record that directly relates to your position or qualifications
Some factors that can be presented in your defense as mitigating circumstances include:
- Acknowledgment of guilt or error
- Implementation of remedial measures to prevent recurrence
- Unintentional nature of the violation
- Personal reporting of the offense to the licensing board
- Considerable time passed without recurrence
- Absence of prior criminal or disciplinary record
- Initiation of the rehabilitation process
- No actual harm was caused, with a low likelihood of harm occurring
We know the specific regulations governing evidence presentation and the administrative procedure. Our attorneys have the knowledge and skills to effectively combat and dismiss charges or accusations against you. We also understand how and when to negotiate favorable resolutions or minimize penalties when it is most advantageous.
If your professional license application has been rejected, we can assist you in meeting the board’s criteria and obtaining approval. If your professional license has been revoked, we can petition for its reinstatement and represent you at any subsequent hearing.
Find a Respiratory Care Practitioner License Attorney Near Me
Riverside License Attorney possesses the expertise to protect your respiratory care professional’s license from accusations and formal allegations. Our team has a proven record of advocating for and achieving favorable results for our clients, and we are prepared to do the same for you. To schedule a free non-obligation consultation, call us at 951-404-0569.
